Before and after (well, after and before!!)

We have one room done...the living room. And, its not really done. We need window treatments and need to hang some family pics...we need to get a rug...the tv looks extra small where it is, not a priority for me...but its more done than the other rooms!!!

ANN-A-VER-SA-RIES

Lisa, do you remember that commercial? Something about a guy talking about special events and the girl was in the background trying to remind him about one specific special day...ok, whatever... So, yes, today is our anniversary...6 whole years...date night was supposed to be tonight but may have to be cancelle. Chloe has had a fever for a few days and got her in to the doctor...she has strep...not fun. I just hope none of the other girls get it...or worse, Bryan. I think he is worse when he is sick than the kids are!!! EDIT: So we did go out...to a wonderful place called Texas de Brazil....wonderful all you can eat steakhouse, about 20 different kinds of meat coming around on skewers to your table, a little pricey, but totally worth it!!!

Hanging out

Hana and Maddisonwanted to take some pictures...They did pretty good!

Smores

We decided on Saturday to make a fire in the back and roast marshmellows. It was the girls first time. They helped daddy find sticks and wood in the afternoon/evening and couldnt wait till it got dark out. Daddy made little benches for us to sit on. Bubba was out with us for a couple hours and didnt run away! It was so much fun just sitting around being a family and talking, without having a tv on in the background. The girls loved it so much, I think we are doing it again tonight for family home evening!

Cousins

Lisa and her kids, Maia and Stella, visited for a few days. We all had a blast. It has been 2 years since we got together. Here are some pics from the visit. I have more from my other camera that I will post later.

We tried

The whole family was in Sarasota this year and Grandma really wanted family pictures taken on the beach, everyone wearing tan and white. It seemed like a big deal. I saw the other families pictures and they looked so nice! It was our turn, and we picked the windiest and coldest day of all. We could hardly stand up. This was our finished product. The girls and my hair is supposed to be down, but the wind blew it so it looks like its in a ponytail. We did it the other direction too, and our hair is all in our faces. Nice.

Just a day of dress up

The house

Just a few pics of the home. The one of Bubba laying in the grass is our front yard. Chloe loves to be out with Bubba and mommy...she loves to go let him out of his pen!

Man I am tired

She put her baby on one blankie and she layed down on her other one...they have to do the same things all the time!

Chloe wanted to help me clean today!

Flowers

Bad day yesterday. Then, I got flowers from dad. Thanks! Maddie said they looked sad. This morning they look happy! I need the name of the site you ordered them from. They were the freshest flowers I have ever seen. So fresh they still had dirt all over them!!

The floors

I decided to try to clean the grout in the house last night. They looked pretty gross. Wow, what a difference. It looks like we have new floors. In one spot, I thought the tile was supposed to be tan, in fact, after cleaning, they are white tiles. Nasty. The bathrooms too. They look great now.

The picture isnt the best, but you get the idea. The grout is white and look how black it used to be.

We are here

We are in the house. I sure hope this is the last move! The house is good, like I said before, it has potential. Easy to add on to. After moving, we realized the girls rooms are huge. They have twice the room than before. It is so nice. We are lacking storage space, bathroom space and there is no pantry. Bryan went out and bought a cabinet thing to put in our laundry room till we can afford to redo the kitchen and do a pantry. After moving, we realized also that there is only one phone jack that works, the bedrooms and office ones dont work. I was getting ready for church Sunday and the outlets in the bathrooms dont work and there are just a few that work in the whole house. Taking a shower...well, it has to be done in the girls bathroom, ours leaks, and you have to crouch down to get the water on your head. Dad, dont come visit till we take care of this!!! And, showers are limited to 3 minutes if you want it warm...luke warm. I tried to do laundry, they hookups for the washer are broken!! Man, I am glad we are renting for now! The plumbers come tomorrow, electricians some time next week. I have a feeling the whole house needs to be re-wired. But, the owner pays for it all!!!! The only thing we have to pay for is remodeling. The kids love it, except for the bugs. Cant wait to see my sister next week. It has been 2 long years!!! We are waiting on a few more things for the girls rooms and I will do pictures when they are done. Hope everyone is doing well.

Perfect timing

Or not so perfect. Bryans truck broke down the other day so he has had my car. Which means, I cant get to the house during the day to do what needs to be done. Plus, it isnt easy to move stuff in my car, so the moving has been halted till the truck is fixed. It is kinda hard for Bryan to go from a big F350 to a Jeep Commander...and for me to go from that to nothin! If only it was next week! Then, this morning, Bryan stayed home for a while so I could go grocery shopping...much needed when all you have in the fridge is butter and milk! On the way, Hana said her tummy hurt. All of a sudden I hear her throw up. All over the new car. Nice! I pulled over. Luckily, I always keep a towel in the car for emergencies like this, since the same thing happened when she was 2. We cleaned her up as much as possible and turned around and headed home. She took a bath and is now in my bed watching Parent Trap, her favorite movie. When I am not here at the computer, I am holding a can of Lysol in one hand and hand sanitizer in the other. I sprayed every toy I could reach and hopefully the other ones wont get it, or me!

I hate painting

All the rooms in the house need to be repainted. Did I mention I hate painting? Hate it. Love it when its done. Chloe's blue/chocolate room is DONE! Maddie and Hana's pink/chocolate room is DONE! Bryan is in charge of the rest, which wont get done before we move, I will be surprised if it is done this year!! Plus, he decided to spend a fortune on tons of paint to paint the whole house, and started a little bit in EVERY room, bathrooms, hallways, living room, kitchen, master bed, and I hate the color!!! Nice. I guess its ok for the living areas, not the kitchen and definatly not the bathrooms. Its a beige color, which I think looks green and ugly. Oh well, the bathrooms are small enough that I can repaint them. I just think bathrooms need to be bright and colorful, not drab and blah, which is how I feel when I see the color. Pictures to come....

Rodeo

We took the kids to the rodeo here in town last night. It was late, 7pm, and when you have a child that goes to bed at 6, it gets hard when it is 9 and the rodeo is still going on. Chloe didnt know what to do with herself at times, but she was good. The girls loved it. They thought it was so much fun. I didnt know what to expect. I thought it was just a hometown rodeo with local competetors. Nope. People from all over, even Australia, were competing. PBR announcer Mike Mathis was the announcer and the PBR bullfighters and Barrelmen were there. It was so funny. At one point, the bullfighter got inside the barrel and the bull came up and tipped it right over, upside down. Hana was laughing hysterically. She loved the bulls. One man got trampled pretty bad and had to be taken out on a board. They had bareback bucking broncos...crazy! Lots of roping and Hana's favorite, barrel racing. She asked me why the girls and boys in the show were dressed up like cowboys and cowgirls, I told her they were real ones. She could not believe it. We had a great time and hope you can enjoy the pics. They dont do it justice and wish I could have taken more, but most of the time we were juggling the kids!

Preview

I always wanted a little old farmhouse to fix up. Be careful what you wish for! We got it alright. The new house is cute and has potential...which is just a nice way of saying its a dump! We have 2 weeks before we move in and a lot of work to do. For starters, I took some before photos and will share after when the time comes. Here is a preview...this is the horrid bathroom that I told you about, Dad...love the colors! The photo actually looks good. But, in real life, the tile is all moldy and falling out, the floor is brown and gross, the walls are 3 different colors, the crown molding looks like it has been up there and not painted for 20 years. As far as the other bathroom, the shower is mustard color and the walls are seafoam...tell me when that went together. The master bed is decent, same with the living room. The kitchen has its original cabinets, and who knows when those were put in. I thought I would take out the shelf liner and put in new stuff...I started to peel it out and found 6 layers of it...all the way to some that had to be from the 60's. Hana and Maddie's bedroom was alright...a tan color, with holes and dents all over the walls. I painted 2 walls Chocolate today and later will go back and do the other 2 a light pink. Chloes room is a pinkish lavender with butterflies painted all over. It was cute, but so worn out, it needs to be painted. We did under the chair rail the same chocolate that was done in the other room and are going to pick another color for the top. There is so much more to be done, little by little. Our funds for this are limited each month, so we will do one room at a time. We are renting with the intention to buy in a few years and possibly add on to it. The owner said he would gut it and redo everything. Bryan would rather do it himself. He doesnt want to try to buy it in a year or so and have the man say, well, I did put $50,000 into it....instead, maybe he will see the work Bryan did and take off the price...plus, he wants it done his way!!! More pictures to come!!!

Packing

Chloe thought it would be nice to help me pack! What a lovely thought!

Maddison has been sleeping in our bed since she got out of the hospital when she was 5 weeks old. She goes through spurts where she will sleep in her room, all night, without getting up. It usually lasts for a week. Then, its back into our room in the middle of the night. And when she is in our bed, its not like she just sleeps in between us. She has to have my arm around her and cuddled as close as possible. I always just related it to the fact that she loves to cuddle. Last night she started it up again. I put her to bed and she wants me in her room. I told her I would stay for a few minutes and then come back later when Bubba is in his bed. I sat next to her and she said she wanted me in her bed. I told her i was too big for her bed to which she replied "Then I cant feel you" "What do you mean you cant feel me?" "When I sleep, I have to feel you, or else I cant sleep" So, I put my arm around her, she grabbed my hand, put it under her face with her hand for a few minutes. Then she told me "You can put your arm wherever you want, as long as I can feel you" So sweet! I left a few minutes later, thinking she was asleep, and went to do some laundry. I heard some little footsteps, and she was in my room. I asked what the problem was and she said she couldnt feel me anymore! I went back into her room, and was with her and asked why she had to feel me when she slept. She told me "Because I love you so much" Melts a mothers heart. That is why I am a mom! Chloe is starting to talk a little more. Just a few words here and there. She said baby today, mama is her new word...she says it way too much!! I am still worried that she is behind in her speaking. She does babble a lot! She has her own little language and will come tell a story and you do not know a single word she says...and she will tell her sisters off! Hana is just growing fast. She loves going to church and going to primary. She loves her teacher there. When we get in the car to go home, she is always telling me scripture stories and what she learned. In our church, when you turn 8, you get baptized. Only because they feel that 8 is the age when they feel the kids are old enough to understand the meaning of it fully. So, Hana turned to me the other day and said "I cant wait till I turn 8. I get to be bathtized and then I am clean of the bad things I did and I can be like Jesus. He was bathtized" She is always surprising me with the knowledge that she has, and she isnt even in school yet!

Thanks for all the prayers. We made it through the tornados. The worst of it was about 1 hour north of us, but there were a couple just a few miles from us. We had lots of warnings, severe storms, but none hit us. Bryan had the opportunity to go with 500 other members of the church to help out on Saturday. They said they were the biggest church group, and only really, there. They felt like they didnt do a whole lot in comparison to the amount of destruction, but I know that just being willing to help made the people feel good. They cleaned up homes and helped elderly look through the rubble for salvageable items. He said it was real sad to be there among the distruction....worse than what it shows on the tv. He was also able to fill up trucks from our church with over $40,000 worth of food for the people, and tonight, more trucks will be filled from the storehouse here. He told me saturday morning that he didnt want to go. He was looking forward to spending the day with the family. I told him to go, cause if it was me, I would want someones husband helping me out. News at home, we are moving, even though Bryan has not talked to our landlord to get out of our lease. We have 2 1/2 weeks. I have a feeling that he is going to tell me after I have packed that we will wait till the end of March! Anyway, yes, moving again. We found a home that is a little smaller, but on 5 acres, much better than the 1/5th we are on now! We will stay there till Bryan can build a home for us. We may end up building on this land. We will see. I am just ready to have no stairs again and to have the dog outside!! The girls all woke up yesterday with colds. Hopefully it wont last long. Maddie gets so sick. Last night she was up crying because her nose was stuffy, which makes it worse, and when she cries hard enough, she always throws up. So, midnight, I am giving her a bath...she didnt sleep well. I went to the store and got her some new medicine so hopefully tonight will be better! Thanks again to every prayer! Sorry about the loss last night!! I fell asleep after the 3rd quarter...it was hopeless!

Its been a busy couple of days. I am trying harder to post more often, but not sure how long that will last! Thursdays a friend of mine and I switch off every other week watching each others kids so that we have a couple hours to ourselves to do whatever we need to do. Well, it was my turn this week to go out! We had to do it Wednesday, cause she had an appt. yesterday. So, I dropped the kids off at 10, went to Target and bought some clothes for the girls...they have all hit a growth spurt and dont fit in their clothes anymore. I went to a few other places, stopped by and said hi to Bryan, got a snack wrap at McD's...not a big fan of that place but I was starved!!! and then headed back to pick up the kids. I really didnt do a lot, but it is nice to get out without tugging 3 little munchkins along! In the afternoon, we took Bubba to the park for a long time, had dinner and then went to Orlando to see a friend who just had a baby. He was adorable! Yesterday, I watched my friends daughter while she took her son to the doctor. We played, made choc. chip muffins, colored, and then went to the playground and played...had a picnic and played some more! Two hours we were there...it was such a beautiful day. My children are so happy outside! Chloe loved the fact that she can climb up the playground and go down the slides by herself. When we got home, it was her bedtime. She slept for 2 hours and then we went back to the park with Bubba. The girls played and met some new friends. It started raining, so we had to go. We had dinner and then I took Bubba, and Maddie, for a 3 mile walk. It rained some more and when we woke up we found out that tornados ripped through just north of us. It is devistating. We got some pretty bad storms this morning, but its all good here!! So, today, we are staying in. I have lots of laundry to do. Lots of vaccuming to do! We will probably make some cookies, go to the park, hopefully find out about our lease and if we can get out. I will keep you posted on that too!! Go Bears!!

What is a day in our life really like?

Ok, so since it is called "A day in the life of the Melicks" maybe I should tell you what our days usually consist of. Usually starts at about 6:30, I get up to shower and get myself together a litte bit. Let the dog out, feed him. By 7ish, Maddie wakes up, get her breakfast, Hana usually follows at 7:30, or today was 8:30, and I get her breakfast. Chloe rolls out of bed at 8, I get her breakfast, after I change her soaked diaper and clothes. By this time, Bryan has usually gone to work. I clean up the kitchen, put the dog in his cage and by 9, we are all upstairs. This is the time for me to do laundry, make the beds, get the girls dressed, and clean whatever needs to be cleaned, and check my email. If I have errands to run, which we keep to once or twice a week, we do it at this time so that we are home by lunch!! Between 11 and 12 we go downstairs, whenever Bubba starts to bark, and let him out. I make lunch, and put Chloe to bed. Sometimes she sleeps other times she just plays. When she is ready to get up, we go to the dog park and let Bubba run around for about 1 1/2 hours while the girls play on the playground. When we get home, it is snack time and maybe time for Chloe to take another nap, depending on how long the first one was. Time for me to get dinner started. The girls usually go upstairs to play while I get dinner ready. Dinner at 5:30, Bryan rolls in anytime between 4 and 7...no set time! Chloe goes to bed between 6 and 6:30. I take Bubba for a 2 mile walk/run. If it is Monday, we have family home evening, which includes a scripture story and activity, like a game or making cookies or whatever the girls want, as long as it is as a family. Tuesday nights, Bryan plays basketball, Wed, we are usually all home, Thursday's I usually have a meeting or girls night out with my friends or whatever I want to do, Friday is date night, and saturday is family day/night!!! Going out on the boat, Seaworld, just time together out as a family!! The girls go to bed about 8, I go downstairs and clean up from dinner, go upstairs to fold all the laundry I did earlier, and go back downstairs to clean the rest of the house. Get to bed around 10:30 or 11. Thats about it!!! Exciting huh? Now you know what a day in the life of the Melicks is like....some adjustments...like craft time with the girls if dinner is an easy one, library days, and so on, but this is it for the most part!

Is that better?

I have had several requests to quickly change the picture here. I guess when you check my blog, the first thing you dont want to see is Bryans bloody head!! Sorry about that. I dont have much time, but things are good. I will update later. So, for now, enjoy this picture of us at the Ruins in Cozumel.

Cool, huh?

Thought I would share the battle wound. By the way, Bryan's birthday is Wednesday...I bought him a helmet! Note: when going into the ER with a head wound, always check up with your physician afterwards to make sure the ER didnt give you directions for taking care of yourself that are complete opposite of what you should do!

First accident of the new year

It only took 2 weeks for something to happen this year! It all started Saturday, I took Maddison and Chloe to Walmart and Bryan took Hana out on the boat with a friend and Bryan's brother. I got a call from Cody to meet them at the ER. First thing I thought was "what did you do to Hana?"...it was Bryan. So, we met them at the ER, walked in and he was holding a bloody towel up to his head. I guess he was wakeboarding and fell a wierd way and the board hit his head and sliced the side open. It was gross. No concussion, though. He ended up getting 5 staples and a bad headache! He is tough, he has a hard head, he will be fine. He is just happy he can finally say that he got hurt wakeboarding!!!

The quick story

I can not believe the year is almost over. We had a good Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we went to church in the morning which was the same old thing...us having to take turns out in the hall with one of the girls because Maddie and Chloe fight during church every time!! When we got home, mom and Mike came over, the girls opened their gifts from them...each got an American girl doll and a few extra things. Not too many gifts, thanks mom...I started to cook...green bean casserole, cheesy potato casserole, corn pudding, jello salad....Diana, Neil, Sydnie and Cody came and brought the turkey, and Ben and his girlfriend came...oh yeah, our dog and thiers...not a good mix...anyway, food was good when I finally ate....way too many gifts but every one was enjoyed. I got the greatest cordless electric broom...love it!!! As far as gifts between Bryan and I, we agreed this year not to do anything. So, I stuck to it and got him a huge bag of peanut m&m's and the new Pirates of the Carribbean movie...he gave me my gift...a purse from Rip Curl...so cute. But then he told me what was inside the purse was even better. I looked and he bought me an IPOD!!! I guess he was tired of me using his MP3 player that he got for Christmas last year. I was shocked!! We didnt go overboard with the kids gifts either. Christmas morning, they woke up and opened their gifts...each got a movie, a book, and activity or craft, and rain boots. That was it, and it was great. We had breakfast, french toast casserole, Melicks left, and then it was just us. We did gifts from family far away, enjoyed the day together, lost our power, and went to see "Charlottes Web". Such a cute movie! Today, Bryan and Hana left till Sat. to go see his grandparents...Maddie and Chloe and I spent the day shopping...I got my new vacuum...love it...and now Maddie just fell asleep after throwing up a couple times...at least she is asleep now. I think I am going to go and make a cpk pizza...mmmmm.....

Merry Christmas!!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We sure did...no time for details now, but we will share later!!!

Well, it never fails...the kids never get sick on a Monday when you have the week to get in to the doctor...no, they get sick, not only on the weekend, but Christmas weekend when you cant get in to a doctor till Tuesday. Hana woke up with pink eye this morning in both eyes. We took her in, got some drops, and that was that...till tonight, she sais her mouth and tongue hurt, she is starting to run a fever, and I really hope she is better tomorrow. It may just be from her having a cold...mom and I figured out her tongue probably hurts because she loves salt and vinagar chips and has eaten too many...but I still worry. She does look like she was punched in the eyes... Well, Merry Christmas to everyone!!! Love you all!!

That's St Cloud

I have been meaning to post this for a while...I couldnt believe it myself when I first saw it but yesterday, it was confirmed by my eyes again, there is a Camero from the 80'2 here in St Cloud that is up on mud tires...along with a mini van and a limo...all lifted on huge tires.... There is also a sign posted down the road from us advertising for child care....posted "Chil Care"...sorry, cant spell? You arent taking care of my "chil"....

A couple of favorites...

Just some holiday pics to share with everyone...

What a sight

Since I am not a native Floridian, I have never seen a night launch. Bryan on the other hand, has. In fact, when he was a kid, his parents took him to the Cape to see it over there. Anyway, I had no clue what to expect. I thought that from over here, we would just see a light go up in the air. During the day when a shuttle goes up, we see it, so I thought it would be like that. Well, we went out back with the kids by the lake and waited. All of a sudden, the sky just lit up. It was beautiful, and the shuttle was still not visible, it was behind the trees. But the sky was just so majestic looking, at almost 9pm. The shuttle went up over the trees and it was like a huge fireball in the sky. The girls thought it was so cool. Of course, I was not expecting much, so I didnt bring my camera. It would have been a great picture if I did!! On to what is going on with us. Christmas...still have not gone shopping. The girls gifts are done...but no one else!! Will do this week. They all had colds about a week ago, got better for no more than 4 days, then got sick again. So, I am at home right now with Hana and Maddie while Bryan went to church with Chloe. She was so excited to ride in daddys big truck!!! Tonight we have dinner at a friends house. Tis the season for parties. In fact, last night was the Christmas dinner for church. I guess they didnt expect too many people to come so when we got there, there were 8 tables of 8 set up, all filled, and about 40 more people standing around to eat. Not enough food at all...but the girls had fun with their friends and we got to talk to some of ours before we left. The night before, which would be Friday, we went out for dinner and then to the town of Celebration to see snow. I thought it was going to be a real snow machine with icy snow the kids could see, but it was machines that shot out foam. You would look in the sky and it would look like it was really snowing, then a bubble would hit you in the eye and leave it stinging!! Kids had fun and we actually had our picture taken, all 5 of us, and it turned out! We are going to use it for Christmas cards, if I get my butt moving! Ahhhh, Hana's birthday...I knew I forgot something. Ok, short version...my 2 girls (Chloe was sleeping) plus three 4 and 5 year olds, and a 2year old, all sleeping over, with a puppy in the mix and a husband who worked his butt off all week and fell asleep before dinner was over....6:30am wake up...wild puppy with husband gone helping friends move....kids with little sleep...mom with even less sleep....girls who get into more things than puppy...and when did "pick up your kids between 9 and 10" turn into "pick them up at 11"....so, Hana had fun, which was all that mattered. Next time, I am demanding the husband doesnt work for 2 days so I get help...that is if there is a next time.... Oh, after the party, Maddie locked us all, including the puppy, out of the house. Bryan was at work, in the lake, with no phone...after a couple hours, I broke in through a window. Kinda scary...how easy it is to brake in our house...good thing I did...he didnt come home till almost 8pm...I broke in at 4.... Ok, hope you got through this long blog without boredom. Still trying to figure out why pictures wont post on here....

Happy Holidays

Cant believe I am actually saying that. We put up our tree last night and the girls and I decorated it today. Tonight we put lights up outside. Kinda look tacky, but it made them smile!! I wrapped my first Christmas gift tonight and there are plenty more to come. Love this time of year. I love shopping for people and love seeing them open the gifts. The girls are all about Santa this year and think that everything is coming from him. I "call" him daily with an updated list from them. I think its cute, but in some way feel bad. I always said that I would never let my kids believe in Santa...and here I am, calling him!!! Tomorrow is Hana's 5th birthday. Man time flies.

Turkey Day

Lots of food was made and eaten today! It was just the 5 of us and Matthew so I just made a turkey breast instead of a whole turkey, a ham that turned out to be too large, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn pudding, home-made cran sauce, moms sweet potato casserole, and I think that is it. Oh, pecan pie and pumpkin cheesecake, both of which are still sitting in the fridge, untouched! After eating and resting for a while, we took Bubba to the dog park. It was good for him to run around plus they have a playground there for the kids so they got to put their energy to good use! The rest of the day, we just played and hung out. Now, to the real reason for this holiday...with all our days filled with what we need, want, dont have, dont look like...its nice to have one day that is focused on what we do have and what we can be thankful for...for me, my family. I know I complain a lot about the girls and the house and how hard it is with Bryan working so much, I am blessed to have kids, to have a house, and to have a husband who is able to work. We should have more days like this, to focus on our blessings. I hope everyone had a good day too and hopefully you all have many blessing to be able to count. Christmas is just around the corner now!!!

frustrated...

My first two kids I am finding out were a little out of the ordinary, developement wise. The fact that Hana said "trick or treat" when she was 11 months old and counted to 3 before her 1st birthday I guess is not normal!!! So, when Chloe didnt start talking at 1, it worried me. Everyone told me to wait, she is fine and she will talk. Well, 18 months and all she sais is "uh oh" and "Bubba" started to worry me. I know she can hear because I will tell her to do something in detail and she will do it. I have a friend who has a boy who is 3 with the same problems. Everyone told her to wait, it will come. He never started talking. So, he is in therapy once a week to work on his speech. She told me her only regret was not doing it earlier. I told the pediatrician and she gave me a number to call. I guess in the state of Florida, there is a early developement program that helps kids out from ages 1-5. They do a bunch of tests to find out what areas need to be worked on. I guess it wont hurt to call and find out. If insurance doesnt cover it, the state will, so I have nothing to lose. I just think maybe I am worrying too much, but like I said, nothing to lose.

And his name is.....

Bubba. Yep, thats right, Bubba. I know, kinda silly but the girls like it and its the only thing Chloe can say. She called him pup pup when we first got him, so it turned into Bubba. He is good. Typical puppy. I feel like I have a new baby. Up every couple hours at night to let him out. He is finally staying in his crate with minimal crying. The girls adore him, maybe a little too much that they never leave him alone. So, if we can just get through these first few months and this puppy training stage, I think he is finally the keeper. As far as other things go, same old thing. The girls have been sick on and off. They all got colds and then got better, and then all got it again. This weather being in the 70's really throws you off!!! So, I have picked up a little bug too, just a sore throat, but with 3 girls that love to have books read to them all the time, kinda gets to you. I have been drinking a lot of herbal tea!! Oh, about that, I have discovered a great new indulgence. I love chai tea...I only drink herbal teas...chai is usually made with black tea, so I dont drink it (tear). well, being that its cooling off, I love to have something warm to drink in the mornings, and since I dont drink coffee anymore either (another tear), I am stuck with my regular herbals. Well, not anymore. For the winter, Celestial Seasonings comes out with new flavors....one which is gingerbread something or other. Anyway, it basically has the same spices in it as chai, but is all herbal!!! And, coffeemate (I think) has a new creamer- vanilla chai spice- so, you mix the two and its the best chai latte you have ever had....great cold too! Just thought I would share that with ya'll. Alright, cant believe I have actually had the time to ramble on here. Hope everyone is doing well. Love and miss you all. Cant believe Hana will be 5 in 2 weeks. Man, time flies!!!

names please

we need some suggestions on naming our new puppy. keep in mind he is a hunting dog, so no fancy names!! thanks!

Its just the begining

As some of you know, I swore we would never have another dog again. We have had too many and had too many problems with all of them. Well, we had one that Bryan loved and never lets me forget the day I gave him away...he named his company after him. It was his pride and joy. So, supposedly he has an office...I say supposedly because no one knows where it is, I have never seen it, and I think it is a made up place in order to get a "watch dog". Yep, thats right, he needs a watch dog. One that is going to sleep at our house and I am going to train and raise...but he needs it for his "office". I gave in and found a dog at the same place in georgia where he got Boone, his beloved. A bluetick coonhound, really cute, but still a puppy and lots of work. Anyway, today was the day he was to go and pick him up. I got a call at 9am that his truck broke down. Long day, he had to figure out what to do and where to go. He ended up getting a rental car and we have to drive up there to pick up the truck and drop off the car, 3 hours away, just for a dog. He better be worth it. Needless to say, it is almost 8pm, and when he should have been home by 2am, he is still not here. Longer trip than expected. Like I said, this dog better be worth it. By the way, anyone know how to cook a turkey???

So, I sent some of you a mild pic of Maddies face...it looked worse the next couple days and her eye hurt when she yawned, she told me! Oh the bumps and bruises of being a child. On a lighter note, halloween was last week, if anyone remembers. I of course forgot my camera when we went out and by the time we got back home, it was way too late. I will dress the girls up this week to take pics, I guess. Anyway, we went to the halloween party at church. every year they have what is called "Trunk-or-treat" where everyone decorates the cars and you go around to the trunks to get candy. It is a lot of fun for the kids, they have a big inflateable slide/jumping gym thing, food, and plus it gives the parents a peace of mind knowing that the candy given out is safe. The girls were adorable. Hana was Jojo from "Jojo's circus". For those of you without kids, that is a clown from a show on Disney!!! Maddie had to be a princess and her favorite right now is Ariel, so she went as her (The Little Mermaid)...matching crown and shoes, of course. And, Chloe was "Boo" from "Monsters, Inc". She loved it. She thought it was the best thing in the world. And, she caught on pretty quick, realizing fast that if you smile and put out your bucket, they will give you candy...and if you smile again and wait some more, they will give you more. After she went to all the cars, she sat down in a chair, picked out a lollipop, unwrapped it and sat eating it the rest of the night. As for the other girls, they had a couple licks of a lollipop, and that was it. They didnt even ask for more, and havent since. Good thing cause I think daddy ate all the good stuff! Wednesday the girls and I went down to West Palm to visit with the grandparents. It has been a while since we have been there and things have changed a lot since we moved. I was able to see the doctor I worked for and get a neck adjustement, much needed! We saw grandma Nutsy and Uncle Monkey! Slept at GP and grandmas house with aunt Sydnie....the girls had so much fun visiting everyone. I met up with a good friend of mine which was much needed. Last time we saw each other was before Chloe was born so it was great to catch up and spend time together. We came home Friday, and Saturday we went out on the boat. It was a little cold and windy, but Hana went on the tube with me...till the waves got sooooo big and we thought they would nock us out! Then Bryan and Matt just wakeboarded the rest of the time. I hope everyone else is doing well. Holidays are coming...cant beleive it...too soon!

The wedding

We had a wedding to go to tonight at church. Well, just a ring ceremony and reception. They had already gotten married at the temple this morning, so for those that didnt make it to the temple, they had a "ring ceremony" before the reception. Invitation said 4, but standard mormon time meant 5...which means I thought it would start on time, we got there early, Bryan knew better, so he complained about being early. Then we sat and waited with 3 crying kids. Once it started, it was nice. Beautiful decor....good company. In fact, there was this couple there that we almost bought a house from but they wanted too much for it. we looked at it about 5 times earlier this year. Weird to see them there. So, Maddie went outside to get the gift with Bryan and was running to him, tripped and fell smack on face. She only cried for less than a minute which surprised me for how bad she looked. It looks like someone punched her in the face. So, we ended up leaving early. Next time, we get a sitter! ( I am trying to get a pic up here of Maddie but it doesnt want to work)

I know i have been slacking on the blogging part here. not much to write about though. same old thing going on, plus, sorry to admit it, but i have been cheating. i have another blog at xanga. only because tons of family has xanga blogs and in order to post comments on theirs, i have to have one. but, most of the info comes to this one, so you arent missing out. we got a new computer today, laptop, so i am trying to get used to it. it keeps putting in extra spaces when i dont need it. wierd. my kids are not going to sleep right now. tell them to go to bed! we have this tile floor that is impossible to clean. my absolute pet peeve is having dirty floors. it reminds me of this family that i used to babysit and their floors were always so gross. i told myself i would never have that. so this tile is gross. you cant mop it. you cant wash it. if there is dirt, you have to use your nail to scrape it off. i highly recommend that no one gets it if you are considering putting in tile floors. dont know what it is, but dont get it! love you all. till next time....

Just a reminder

Just to remind you, since the pics are kinda fuzzy, you can just click on the picture and they will come up better, I hope. Just dont look too close!!!

We will see if this one works. So these are just a few of the pictures we took. I have a whole disk full of wonderfull ones to be downloaded, but the disk is cracked. OOOPS! So, here are a few to hold you over. They are taken in Labadee, Haiti and then a couple at our formal night with Vanessa, Doug, Charmaine and Charlie.

Funny thing that just happened. Hana is at this stage right now where everything has been created by the Heavenly Father. It has, but she goes far with it. We will be eating and she says, "I am so happy Heavenly Father created this yogurt because it is soooooo good" and so on. Well, tonight she said something and I told her not to say a certain word, we dont talk like that in our home, to which she replied, "If I am not supposed to say it, than why did Heavenly Father create the word?" How do you answer that one?!

I promise I am trying to put up pictures of the trip, but it has not been working. So, i am trying...hopefully soon it will work cause there are some cute ones!